On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins continued their off-season overhaul by negotiating for Cody Glass of the Nashville Predators.
The 24-year-old is about to play for his third team, beginning his career with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019-20. He moved to Music City after a 2021 trade for Nolan Patrick.
Many people believed that general manager Kyle Dubas had changed the roster, but was busy acquiring some draft picks from the St. Louis Blues and then brought in Glass in a separate deal.
Here are five things fans should know about the Penguins’ new forward.
Drafted sixth overall in the 2017 Draft
Glass played with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL from 2015 to 2019, earning the captaincy during his fourth season. After a slow start with just 27 points in his first 68 games, he exploded for 94 points in 2016-17.
However, the best was yet to come for the Winnipeg, Manitoba native, who scored 37 goals and 102 points in 2017-18. In his final season, he scored 69 points in 38 games, having a chance with the Chicago Wolves for six games, where he earned five points.
As the top prospect in the 2017 Draft, the Golden Knights selected him sixth overall, behind names like Nico Hischier (first), Miro Heiskanen (second), Cale Makar (fourth) and Elias Pettersson (five). Interestingly, Glass was traded for Patrick, the third overall pick in this draft class.
Won a World Championship in 2023
When the Predators failed to qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Glass was given the opportunity to represent Canada in the World Championship.
In 10 games, he made four assists and was part of a squad that won the tournament and became world champions. The event marked the first time since the World Junior Championships in 2019 that Glass wore a Canadian jersey.
Scored his first hat-trick in March 2024
During a contest against the Colorado Avalanche on March 2, 2024, Glass, who has 29 career goals, scored his first career hat trick in a 5–1 victory.
Skating against Alexander Georgiev, he scored a goal in each period, including an empty-net goal to complete a hat trick. At the moment, this game remains the only multi-goal of his career.
He has already skated with Ludvig and Beauvillier
Glass is connected to two current members of the Penguins, John Ludvig and Anthony Beauvillier.
While skating with the Winterhawks, Glass and Ludvig were teammates as the Swedish defenseman played in the WHL from 2017 to 2020, taking over the captaincy from Glass in 2019.
In 2023-24, Glass, who played 41 games, had the opportunity to skate briefly with Anthony Beauvillier, who played 15 games after the Predators acquired him at the trade deadline.
Golden Knights’ first draft pick
The Golden Knights joined the NHL in 2017 and built their team through the Expansion Draft. Regarding the prospect pool, his first participation in the Entry Draft took place on June 23, 2017.
With the sixth overall pick, Vegas selected Glass, who would be their first draft pick and their first draft pick to make his NHL debut on October 2, 2019. In his first game, Glass scored his first goal against Martin Jones in a 4. -1 win.